Chapter 14

“Suihuan, we have the day off tomorrow and don’t have to work. Do you want to go to town?”

Lying on the bed, Qin Fei asked Chen Suihuan beside her.

Chen Suihuan nodded. “I do. I sent some packages here before I left. I need to go pick them up tomorrow.”

“Me too. I heard the winters here are terribly cold. My parents sent me two thick quilts and some heavy cotton-padded clothes. They should’ve arrived by now.” Gao Yue added.

Qin Fei smiled and looked over Chen Suihuan at Gao Yue, who was lying on her other side. “Alright then, let’s go together tomorrow.”

Liu Lainan was lying next to the three of them. Listening to their conversation, she couldn’t help clenching her fists and turning over.

Thinking they had disturbed her, the others lowered their voices a little.

“Don’t you guys want to move out? I feel like there are too many people at the Educated Youth Site. The worst part is the food.” Gao Yue said.

“When I was at home, my parents would buy meat every few days. Now, we don’t even get that. Can’t we at least have some meat every week? I’m starving for it. If I go a month or two without a single bite of meat, I’ll lose my mind.”

She thought about the meal they just had and frowned, rubbing her stomach. Half a pound of meat had been split onto two plates. After everyone took one chopstick’s worth, there was hardly anything left. She hadn’t eaten her fill.

Chen Suihuan didn’t say anything but turned to look at Qin Fei. Qin Fei nodded and said: “I feel the same as Gao Yue. I also want to move out.”

“It’s not enough for just the three of us to want that. Tomorrow we can go ask the Male Educated Youth if they want to move out too. We’re unfamiliar with everything here. Just the three of us girls living on our own—it’s really dangerous.” Chen Suihuan said thoughtfully.

In this era, every village had its share of thugs and troublemakers. Even if she was fairly strong, there would always be times when they were alone. It wasn’t safe at all to live outside on their own.

“Alright, tomorrow we’ll ask the Male Educated Youth too. If they’re willing, we can all live together.” Qin Fei agreed after thinking it over. She felt that Chen Suihuan’s concern was valid.

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The next morning, it was the Male Educated Youth’s turn to cook. When Chen Suihuan and the others woke up, the bell for morning work had just rung.

When they came out, Guo Lan said: “Your grain was already delivered early this morning by the Production Brigade—ten pounds of coarse grain per person. It’s all stored with ours. We also made breakfast for you since you don’t have to work today. You can relax and tidy up. We’re off now.”

With that, she hurried off with the other older Educated Youth.

The new Educated Youth gathered together for breakfast. While eating, Xu Tao and Li Changxu asked Chen Suihuan if she was going to town.

“Yes. But how are we getting there? Walking?” Qin Fei asked.

Ren Caiying smiled. “I already asked around. Every three days, a group from the village goes to town. We can take a horse-drawn cart.”

The Victory Commune was huge and had a large population. There were eight Production Brigades in total. Their Shengli Brigade belonged to the first group.

Because of its size and ample land, Shengli Brigade was relatively well-off. Not only did the commune have several cows, but it even had a horse.

Hearing they didn’t have to walk, Chen Suihuan let out a breath of relief. Walking wouldn’t have been such a big deal, but the main issue was that they all had a lot of packages coming in.

Carrying everything back on foot would’ve been exhausting.

Among all the new Educated Youth, only Liu Lainan wasn’t going to town. As they departed, her expression was particularly gloomy.

On the way to the edge of the village, Gao Yue suddenly said: “Liu Lainan only has that one small bundle of belongings, right? The winters here are so cold. How is she going to make it through?”

Liu Lainan seemed to have brought only a small bundle. Inside were just some worn-out bedding and quilts, along with two patch-covered garments. She didn’t even have a single pair of shoes.

The two garments were both thin long shirts. They were fine for now, but in another two months, relying on just those two pieces of clothing—she’d freeze to death for sure.

Chen Suihuan didn’t say anything. Among the ten new Educated Youth, aside from the four of them, the rest were all male.

Out of the four girls, it was obvious at a glance that Qin Fei and Gao Yue came from well-off families. They were girls who had grown up cherished and pampered by their parents.

As for Liu Lainan—just from her name alone, one could tell what kind of life she had lived before.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Suihuan said: “There are still two months to go. Let’s see how many work points she earns each day. If she earns enough, she should be able to buy a cotton-padded coat. If she really can’t make it through the winter by then, we’ll help her out as much as we can.”

Liu Lainan was a bit petty and liked to take advantage of small favors. She was also somewhat dramatic.

With someone like that, if they kept giving and giving, it might just end up making her more demanding. It was okay to save someone in need, but it couldn’t turn into constant support.

“She annoys me.” Qin Fei muttered, curling her lip. “She kept whining all the way here—complaining about this and that—so fake and delicate.”

On this point, both Chen Suihuan and Gao Yue agreed silently.

Chatting like this, they quickly arrived at the edge of the village. This was the only road that led to town, so the cart would definitely pass through here.

Before long, they heard the jingling of a bell tied to the horse’s neck. Then they saw an old man in his sixties, puffing on a dry tobacco pipe and driving a horse-drawn cart toward them.

The front of the cart was quite spacious. Sitting there was the elderly man, and beside him was a tall, upright figure.

Chen Suihuan suddenly found that silhouette familiar. When they got closer, she recognized it—it was Lu Xingyan.

Lu Xingyan saw Chen Suihuan too and gave her a slight nod.

The elderly cart driver stopped the cart and smiled as he asked: “You’re the new Educated Youth, right? Headed to town?”

Chen Suihuan and the others nodded.

The old man spoke plainly: “If you want a ride, it’s two fen per person.”

The horse wasn’t privately owned; it belonged to the commune. Any money earned from transporting people would be turned over to the commune in the end.

Ren Caiying had already told them about this sort of thing, so they had all brought money with them. Upon hearing the price, they handed over the coins.

The Educated Youth climbed aboard, and the cart quickly became packed.

The women already on the cart—all elder aunties—looked curiously at the group of young city folk.

One woman exclaimed: “Oh my, you Educated Youth sure are good-looking. Whether male or female, your skin is so smooth and tender. Looks like city food really raises people well.”

Another woman agreed: “Isn’t that the truth. Just look at you girls—so pretty. Makes people jealous.”

“Once you start working, I bet you’ll charm all the young men and women in the village.”

Their stares were intense and direct, making the Educated Youth all squirm uncomfortably under the scrutiny.

At that moment, a slightly plump, dark-skinned woman suddenly nudged a spirited-looking woman sitting beside her and joked with a smile: “Sister-in-law, look at these three Female Educated Youth. Aren’t they pretty? How about picking one for your family’s Third Son as a wife?”